Recently an anti-fungal peptide from Aspergillus niger has been isolated by Lee et al. (1999), Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 263, 646-651). The A. niger antifungal peptide is reported to inhibit the growth of yeasts including the pathogen C. albicans. The Lee et al. reference describes the isolation of the peptide and the determination of the amino acid sequence of the mature peptide. The gene encoding the A. niger antifungal peptide was not cloned, and the sequence of the primary translation product remains unknown. It is not known whether the primary product contains signal and pro-peptide sequences, which could be essential to efficient secretion and processing of the product.
Another anti-fungal peptides from Aspergillus giganteus (Nakaya, K et al., (1990), Eur. J. Biochem. 19, p. 31-38) has been isolated and characterized. The A. giganteus peptide is small (51 amino acids), alkaline (pl 9.3) and contains four S—S interchain bridges (Campos-Olivas, R. et al. (1995), Biochemistry 34, 3009-3021). Other peptides have been isolated from the Aspergilli A. clavatus and A. giganteus A3274 (WO 94/01459).